Kane Williamson eyes these records in second South Africa Test
New Zealand's Kane Williamson will be eager to enhance his form in the upcoming second Test match versus South Africa at Seddon Park in Hamilton. Williamson was at his absolute best in the opening encounter, slamming successive tons. His blitz helped the Kiwis earn an impressive 281-run win over a second-string Proteas unit. Williamson is in line to script more records. Here's more.
Why does this story matter?
Williamson scored 118 and 109 in the first encounter. Notably, the classy player has slammed six Test centuries from his last 10 innings (132, 1, 121*, 215, 104, 11, 13, 11, 118, and 109). His 109 in the second innings saw him clock 31 tons, becoming the joint-fastest to reach the milestone. He also became the fifth NZ player with centuries in either innings.
Williamson is eyeing 8,500 Test runs
Williamson has amassed 8,490 runs at an average of 55.12. He is only 10 shy of the 8,500-run mark. Williamson, who will become the first Kiwi player to achieve the mark, can also surpass former Test legends Vivian Ricards (8,540) and Virender Sehwag (8,586) in terms of runs. Meanwhile, Williamson can surpass 950 fours, having slammed 942.
18,000 runs in international cricket
As per ESPNcricinfo, Williamson has amassed 17,847 runs in international cricket for the Kiwis at 48.36. In addition to his 8,490 runs in the longest format, Williamson owns 6,810 runs in ODIs at 48.64 and another 2,547 runs in the 20-over format. Williamson needs 153 runs to complete 18,000 runs and become the second Kiwi player to do so since Ross Taylor (18,199).
4,500 runs on home soil in Tests
Williamson has clocked 4,494 runs on home soil and is six shy of the 4,500-run mark. He averages 68.09 at home, having slammed 18 tons and 18 fifties. Williamson will become the first player to achieve the mark in New Zealand.
Williamson can clock 1,000 runs versus South Africa
In 11 matches versus South Africa, Williamson has scored 892 runs at 55.75 with the help of five centuries and two fifties. Williamson is 108 away from becoming just the second New Zealander to smash this record after Stephen Fleming, who scored 1,072 runs. SA can become the third nation against whom Williamson can own 1,000-pls runs after Pakistan (1,519) and Sri Lanka (1,329).
Williamson can equal these names with another ton
Williamson owns five centuries versus the Proteas. With another ton, he can equal Jacques Kallis, who has the most number of tons (6) in New Zealand-South Africa matches. Williamson, who has 31 tons, can equal the likes of Aussie duo Steve Smith and Steve Waugh in terms of centuries (32). Meanwhile, Williamson (5) can equal Taylor's record of six tons at Hamilton (Seddon Park).